Every year, hundreds of students in the College devote their time and energy to community service. In addition to the satisfaction they receive in helping their neighbors, they also gain valuable work experience. Through NYU’s Community Service Center, students volunteer with dozens of not-for-profit organizations throughout New York City.

Community service provides an opportunity to address major social, health, hunger, and environmental issues. Through service, students enhance their leadership skills, find fulfillment in giving back something to the community, and build new relationships while learning more about themselves.

Activities

There are many ways to become involved in activities on and off campus. Students in the College collect canned goods, conduct toy drives, and distribute bag lunches to the homeless. They work in dropout prevention programs that encourage high school students to stay in school. They renovate houses and make them livable again. Students in the Scholars Program participate in ongoing service projects such as the Dean's Service Honor Corps; Cambodian Book Drive; Stories on Stage in the neighborhood grade school; and the Freedom School Mentoring Project. Whether their involvement is with the sick, the poor, or those who simply need a helping hand, student volunteers give of themselves freely. And they all agree that they get back much more than they give.

To strengthen and further support community service initiatives, the University sponsors a number of central services, including a central Community Service Office (Web site: www.nyu.edu/community.service) and ServiceNet, an online community service database. In addition, the President's Office sponsors a special C-Team for service involving over 250 students working as tutors and mentors for young people at sites in Greenwich Village and the Lower East Side. Regular meetings and social events are sponsored by the Office of the President. Members are invited to submit proposals for special projects where they can call on their own skills and talents. For more information, contact Gloria Cahill at 212-998-2329.

The University supports a national service initiative, Project Safety Net. Members of the AmeriCorps Project Safety Net, a cross-university corps, work to promote safety among young people at risk through peer mediation and conflict resolution programs. For general information, please call 212-998-2094. Any students at NYU interested in joining AmeriCorps Project Safety Net can contact Lee Frissell at 212-998-5021.

Students selected for the Scholars Program in the College of Arts and Science have the opportunity to apply for the Dean’s Service Honor Corps. Under the direction of Dean Matthew S. Santirocco, the Honor Corps makes a special commitment to community service and assumes a leadership role in promoting service in the College. This group of qualified scholars works with the dean on a weekly community service project.

Service-learning courses link structured academic course work with community service for academic credit. The College offers service-learning courses related to the numerous majors and academic areas of concentration available to the students. For more information about these courses, contact particular departments or Associate Dean Richard Kalb, 212-998-8140.

Many student clubs and organizations such as Asian Initiative, C.H.A.N.C.E., and the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life sponsor special service projects and philanthropic events throughout the year. To find out more about becoming involved, contact the Community Service Center or the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life at 212-998-4710.

In addition to clubs and organizations, the Office of Student Life sponsors an Alternative Spring Break, a nontraditional spring vacation in which students participate in a weeklong community service project. One group travels outside of New York to a site in need; another serves on the Lower East Side. Another option available to students is Outreach, a volunteer corps that introduces freshmen to service in New York City, 212-998-2097.

 The NYU Community Service Center, 212-998-4614, provides students with information about service opportunities. Hundreds of volunteer positions are on file in this office. Center staff are available to provide advice and support. A community service handbook, a helpful guide for doing community service, may be obtained at the center. The center also sponsors special events such as Alternative Spring Break, Weekend Service Projects, and the annual Hunger Clean-Up. In addition, the center welcomes organizations to post volunteer positions.